


Allies Despite

by roommes



Category: One Piece
Genre: Enemies to Friends, F/F, Nami knows, Punk Hazard Arc, Tashigi is still unsuspecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6560458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roommes/pseuds/roommes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I knew it! I knew it!” Nami squealed as she held onto Tashigi’s hands tightly. “I knew you’re into girls!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Allies Despite

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from my tumblr.

Tashigi toyed with the metal buttons on her pink winter coat, and fell a step behind the pirate. The pirate didn’t seem to notice, and Tashigi took the chance to evaluate her opponent. She knew by now that she cannot underestimate a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, and she also knew how it felt to be looked down upon because of one’s gender, so she wasn’t going to do any of that. She also knew Nami was the navigator of the ship, and had admirable skills in manipulating the weather. Beyond that, the pirate was also very intelligent and cunning, which brought her back to her current situation. She was following the pirate into the quieter parts of the island, away from the Strawhats and her own G5 team. Was this even a wise choice, she wondered to herself.

“What are you planning?” She finally asked, unable to keep the suspense inside of her.

Nami halted in her steps, and turned slowly around. She was surprised to find a gentle smile on the pirate’s face, as Nami replied calmly, “Let’s get to know each other better.”

The words took a while to sink in, and when it did, she felt her face flush. “W-what are you talking about? I’m a Marine and you’re a pirate! There is no reason for us to get to know each other better!”

This time, Nami frowned, although she maintained the passiveness of someone who was unwilling to fight. The pirate let out a soft sigh and placed her two hands on her hips. “You asked for me to trust you enough to hand the children over to you, right?”

Tashigi opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when she realised that Nami was right. The other female approached her cautiously, but her smile remained bright and friendly and she said, “So what made you decide to take up the sword?”

“I… I thought it was artistic and graceful,” she replied softly, and turned her face away from the pirate, trying to hide the blush that threatened to break out on her face. She stole a glance at Nami, and saw that the pirate had a grin on, as if she knew something that Tashigi didn’t. She felt panic rise inside of her and she blurted without thinking, “You are not going to tell Roronoa Zoro about this, are you?”

Nami scoffed. “Like I would tell that dumb block of wood anything. Besides I don’t think his reason would differ that much from yours.” She turned around and picked a patch of snow, petting it lightly before she sat herself down. Looking back at Tashigi, her eyes suddenly narrowed. “You… don’t have a crush on Zoro, do you?”

The pirate’s question shocked and embarrassed the marine, and she lost the fight against her blush. Her face burned and she waved her hands frantically, trying to rebutt Nami’s statement. “W-what! O-of course not! I’m a Marine! I will _never_ like a pirate! Never! He’s just a fellow swordsman! That is all.”

“I used to hate pirates as much as you do.”

The sudden change in Nami’s tone stunned her, and when she stared flabbergasted, the pirate avoided her glance, something that was quite uncharacteristic of her in Tashigi’s opinion. In Tashigi’s opinion, Nami was a strong-headed and confident woman, and if she wasn’t a pirate, Tashigi would actually admire her for her courage and compassion. In most ways, she thought Nami was quite like her, except Nami was less clumsy and a lot more… comfortable in her own skin. To see the woman suddenly nervous and uncomfortable reminded Tashigi that everyone had their insecurities.

She took the spot beside Nami, bringing her knees to her chest, and prompted quietly, “What happened?”

The ginger hesitated before answering, “My mother died at the hands of a pirate.”

Tashigi clenched her fists tightly, as the memories of all of the evil things that she had seen pirates do swarmed her. “What made you change your mind?”

“Because it was also a pirate who set my village free.”

“Monkey D. Luffy,” Tashigi answered automatically, and Nami nodded at her.

“He’s different from the others, you know.”

And Tashigi _did_ know. She had kept a close watch over the Strawhats to the best of her abilities since the incident at Loguetown, and while the newspapers did portray them in a bad light, the gut feeling inside of her told her that Monkey D. Luffy always had a reason for doing what he did. This shared moment in Punk Hazard did nothing to soothe the dilemma inside of her, nor go against the thought that Monkey D. Luffy was not an ordinary pirate who pillaged and ran rampant through the seas. Or maybe the latter was partially true, since the pirate-king-wannabe had a knack for causing a lot of property damage.

“I don’t expect you to trust us, and I understand if you can’t,” Nami began, her tone turning serious, and Tashigi found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the determination burning inside the other’s amber eyes. “But Tashigi, I’m willing to trust _you_.”

‘I want to trust you too’ was what Tashigi wanted to say, but her pride and her status as a Marine Captain forbade her to. If all pirates were evil and untrustworthy, then why would they risk their lives to save a group of children that the Marines themselves failed to protect? She knew deep down inside that she was choosing the easier way out by drawing the line firmly between the marines and the pirates, instead of accepting that there are good pirates and bad marines too. Until Vergo happened, and if she continued to believe that way, would she be essentially lying to herself?

She felt a sudden smooth leather feeling caressing her cheek and she jerked back in reflex, her hands automatically going to her side and reaching for her sword, only to realise that she had left that behind on the ship. Her eyes darted back to Nami, who now looked shy and was once again avoiding her gaze. Did… Nami just touch her cheek? It was then that she realised that her cheeks were wet and Nami was wiping her tears away for her. Somehow that knowledge did nothing to calm her now frantic heart and returning blush.

Nami stood up and stretched herself lightly. She extended a hand out to Tashigi, her smile easily returning back to her face. “I think we’ve been away too long. Someone will start to question our absence.”

This time, the marine decided not to hide her smile, as she returned it to the pirate she secretly called a friend. Nami helped her up, and proceeded to head back in the direction of the temporary camp set up by their crews. Tashigi was about to follow before Nami suddenly stopped again, turning her body slightly to face her.

“By the way, I think your new hairstyle suits you very well,” she complimented with a laugh and headed off again.

It wasn’t fair that she didn’t even have the time to make her current blush go away before Nami worsened it. She could feel her cheeks burn a contrast against the cold winds, so she started after the pirate anxiously and spoke her mind again.

“I think you look very pretty with long hair too.”

Nami’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and Tashigi willed herself to not look away from her face. She did mean it, and… _oh gods, what had she just said?_ Groaning quietly to herself, she started to bury her face in her hands, about to mumble an apology to the pirate, before she felt her hands being tugged away by an ecstatic Nami, who was bouncing slightly on her feet. The pirate’s smile was dazzling and Tashigi found herself starstruck.

“ _I knew it! I knew it!_ ” Nami squealed as she held onto Tashigi’s hands tightly. “I knew you’re into girls!”

Her first reaction was to object to Nami’s words, but she started to reconsider when she saw how excited Nami was. So she chose to laugh instead, putting her answer in the sound, and hoped that Nami understood.


End file.
